Straight On Till Morning

Music: chan kinchla
Lyrics: john popper

Break away break away
Blinkon and nod
Carelessly with matches play
Telling you you're odd
Foolishly he lets it burn
Aware of different shapes
And so he makes his hand a fist
And never looks at what he rapes

And who am i to say i don't understand it
And if feeling better justifies the thrill
Who'd be stupid enough to say it doesn't have to be that way
I will

Sing a song of sixty pence
For a pocket full of rye
And kill all that he represents
To ensure that he will die
Chase him from the public square
Or hang him from a tree
And tell his kind they best beware
Because he's different from me

And who am i to say i don't understand it
And if feeling better justifies the thrill
Who'd be stupid enough to say it doesn't have to be that way
I will

Twinkle twinkle little star
We have you in our sights
Dangerous, we come this far
The serpent giggles with delight
The pigs head on a stick does grin
As we teeter on the brink
He's singing you are all my children
My islands bigger than you think

And who am i to say i don't understand it
And if feeling better justifies the thrill
Who'd be stupid enough to say it doesn't have to be that way
I will
I will
I will
I will

Music & lyrics: john popper

Autumn air it carries me there
Less than an hour to go
Six hundred miles an hour
And still it feels so slow
I'm trying to get back to burlington
To a square in the center of town
To a spot on a wooden table
Where her feet didn't reach the ground
And shen she kisses me it tasted like cinnamon
And her skin smells of cider and rose
And when she looked at me we both got quiet
And my heart beats so hard we were in so close
Once for such a beautiful while that still makes me smile

And she called me her ugly american
And i would call her my canadian flower
And i don't think that we'll ever get there again
We had such power
And she would call me her ugly american
And i'll remember my canadian rose
Especially when the fall comes to burlington
We were in so close

I finally made it this town looks rearranged
I don't know these people anymore
But in the best ways not much else has changed
From the way it was before
And at least they still have this certain table
Where i once carved a particular name
I run my finger through the weathered carving
And i almost can feel the same
And my mouth it almost tastes just like cinnamon
As i ponder what my pilgrimage means
And i try to figure out where vancouver is from here
And i listen to the leaves
If only for a beautiful while that still makes me smile

And she called me her ugly american
And i would call her my canadian flower
And i don't think that we'll ever get there again
We had such power
And she would call me her ugly american
And i'll remember my canadian rose
Especially when the fall comes to burlington
We were in so close

And every single hope and dream i could ever conjure up
Passionately springs in me and all things are possible
Plausible and perfectly both of ours forever after and every day
At least it seemed that way
Once for such a beautiful while that still makes me smile

And she called me her ugly american
And i would call her my canadian flower
And i don't think that we'll ever get there again
We had such power
And she would call me her ugly american
And i'll remember my canadian rose
Especially when the fall comes to burlington
We were in so close

Music & lyrics: john popper


When you roll down your window
And ask for directions
Can you count on the answers
That you would receive
If you've ever been taken
By that passed along pay back
Why ask in the first place you might not believe
But i won't be confined to road maps
Or let assholes decide
And i'd rather be lost
Then afraid to take a ride

And if it's a sing
No place on earth will i ever fit in
And i don't mind
Someday i pray i just may
As i make my way

Well i might have been helpful
Or a mischievous bastard
But when i'm thinking about it
I do what i can
In the infinite halfway
Where everyone always meets me
And by the laws of pure error
Do we exchange and understand
I'm yelling as loudly
As my lungs will allow
I wish i could whisper
Can you hear me now

And if it's a sing
No place on earth will i ever fit in
And i don't mind
Someday i pray i just may
As i make my way

Could be no one has the meaning
Of what anybody says
But so we don't feel so lonely
We decide that we do
Well now we might be speaking english
But what does that mean
And can you honestly tell me
What color is blue
Well you could try an explanation
Or try to wonder why
But if i'm lost in your driveway
All i really can do is try

And if it's a sing
No place on earth will i ever fit in
And i don't mind
I've looked and searched her over countless times
And i'll do it again
Someday i may finally want to stay
Someday i pray i just may
As i make my way
As i make my way
As i make my way...

Music & lyrics: john popper

And if my two left feet could settle down and split the difference
Tripping over myself in every way that i know how
Perhaps in time i could surpass my coy facade of vast indifference
But i've already reached the maximum of what my law allows
You tell me to relax you tell me
Not to try so hard
But in the end it only makes me want to more
To figure out some way to play some major part

So i watch her move and i watch her work
Satisfy my voyeuristic quirk
Old habits they are hard to break
Just harder than it is to take
And when she looks away i tap my feet
I try my best to be discreet
Careful so she won't find out
How much i want to shout

Come on and dance with me felicia
And show me how to do that step i never thought i could
You always move so gracefully
And i was never any good
But maybe if you'll dance with me
I'd feel as nimble as a cheetah felicia
The momentary soaring of an eagle would be me
Come on felicia set me free
And when you start to close your eyes
You know you move so beautifully
I want to dance with you come on and dance with me felicia

I suppose the thing that gets me most is that if i'd bothered ever
I wouldn't feel so much like casey who never got to bat
You cannot help but laugh at me singing better late than never
And more and more i realize i have no argument for that
I can almost work up the nerve for a declaration
I can almost hear me speak the words as i gain resolve
But then you move and you twirl and you smile at me
And my inhibition and my courage both dissolve

And so i'm standing there and i do not move
In spite of her momentous groove
And for a moment i can barely see
A glimpse of how good it could be
And then i must admit that i want to try
To look felicia in the eye
And when the music starts to play
To smile at her and say

Come on and dance with me felicia
And show me how to do that step i never thought i could
You always move so gracefully
And i was never any good
But maybe if you'll dance with me
I'd feel as nimble as a cheetah felicia
The momentary soaring of an eagle would be me
Come on felicia set me free
And when you start to close your eyes
You know you move so beautifully
I want to dance with you come on and dance with me felicia

And so i'm standing there and i do not move
In spite of her momentous groove
And for a moment i can barely see
A glimpse of how good it could be
And then i must admit that i want to try
To look felicia in the eye
And when the music starts to play
To smile at her and say

Come on and dance with me felicia
And show me how to do that step i never thought i could
You always move so gracefully
And i was never any good
But maybe if you'll dance with me
I'd feel as nimble as a cheetah felicia
The momentary soaring of an eagle would be me
Come on felicia set me free
And when you start to close your eyes
You know you move so beautifully
I want to dance with you come on and dance with me felicia
I want to dance with you come on and dance with me felicia
Dance with me i want to dance with you felicia

Music & lyrics: john popper

Well i love no one and i don't care who knows
Don't care if you're far away
Don't give a damn if you're close
I'm the vacant distraction of a broken old man
I lack shape or color
Not even gray or even tan
I'd hate all i see but it makes me too tired
I'm much more at home when left uninspired
So damn me to hell and resist if you must
But lower your eyes once and i'll emerge from the dust

For i am nothing
Yes i am nothing
Yes i am nothing
And i love no one

Well i love everyone i am filled with delight
I understand all your feelings i don't see from wrong or right
I'm the look in your eyes when you're telling the truth
I'm the wisdom of age and the beauty of youth
I am shape substance color darkest black palest white
Speckled gond ringing mirror sharp soft and bright
I'm rage passion laughter and the need to know why
Come sample all my riches i'm pure stimuli

For i am everything
Yes i am everything
Yes i am everything
And i love everyone

Well i can only love someone i am just a person
My father loved my mother and i am her son
The preceding verses are the halves of my soul
I'm just the battlefield and that is my role
There's a tug of war between what i can and can't feel
The inevitable compromise determines the real
The equation the reason for my being here
The struggle resulting in my invention of the tear

For i'm only something
Yes i'm only something
Yes i'm only something
And i can only love someone

And it's the best i can do
It's the very best i can do
You're probably someone too
So perhaps i love you
Perhaps you'll love me too
Perhaps you'll love me too
Perhaps you'll love me too
(scat solo)

Music: brendan hill and chan kinchla
Lyrics: john popper

Sue him now and i'll tell you how
He's gonna milk like a cow
And if you want to fill a bucket
Simple as pie if you care to try
Just look him in the eye like you're high
And you want to die to cry
Fuck it
He's stuck it
Where it's ripe and i can pluck it
And it's a jewel
And it's cool
And hell i ain't no fool to school the rule

Business as usual
System never fails
Everybody's constitutional
Bargain back room sale

Bought and sold don't you catch a cold
It's going around i'm told
And it's survival of the healthy
Early to rise gonna win a prize
It's the other guys who realize
Their demises' size will fantasize
I'm stealthy i'll be wealthy
But they deny with a lie
As they try to sigh their sly good-bye
To like it or lump it
And if it's back is turned
The jump it so pump it out

Business as usual
System never fails
Everybody's constitutional
Bargain back room sale

Like it or lump it
And if it's back is turne
Then jump it or bump it or pump it
Have your tea and crumpet
On a stump it
Doesn't matter to me you see
If i can let it be then i'm free
In the sea of my destiny
And that's key for me
You know chi for me
And if rivalry is chivalry then c'est la vie
Or c'est la guerre
Let the buyer beware of the fare
And if you dare to bare the air to care
Then something is there
But if it's bought or leased
Let it be deceased
With the beast released
Then the palm is greased
And we can gather for the feast

Business as usual
System never fails
Everybody's constitutional
Bargain back room sale

Business as usual
System never fails
Everybody's constitutional
Bargain back room sale